captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff, and welcome to this "pbs newshour" special coverage of president obama's "state of the union" address. we want you to know this program is also being livestreamed on our home page on the web. in just a few moments, the president will spell out his policy agenda for the start of his second term. he is expected tonight to focus mainly on jobs and the economy, and to highlight other domestic priorities including gun control and immigration reform, but also to touch on international challenges. here with me, as they will be throughout our coverage tonight, are syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. mark, what is different about a state of the union when it's the first one of a second term?

>> you don't have that many more to look forward to? the sand is running out of the glass. this is probably the best shot that most presidents have in their second term is that first year-and-a-half before you get into congressional elections and the lame duckness really sets in. the race to succeed him begins while he's just sitting there. so this is important. this is the teasing of the moment but the moment is left under most circumstances. obviously a crisis can extend that. but generally speaking in the natural order of things, judy, a president has a year-and-a-half to accomplish his greatest achievements in his second term. >> woodruff: as we watch the video live from the house chamber, members of the president's cabinet making their way in greeting senators and house members. we're waiting for the president himself to come in that door. david, if anybody thought that the partisanship that was i guess the main feature of last

year's election was going to diminish after november, that really hasn't been the case. >> did anybody actually think that? i think we've reached a point though where some of the budget fights we've had, we're not going to have a deal. we're not going to have a budget deal. we'll find stop gap measures. it does raise the possibility if you put that aside, you try to get other stuff done. some of the immigration. some of the guns. some of the economic stuff that the president will propose tonight, there's some possibility of getting that done. the challenge for me as we look at them come in, sean donovan housing and urban development there in the gray suit, arne duncan with education a lot of these people have served four years. this is not exactly a new team. he didn't clean house by any means. there are some new people, john kerry but it's a very familiar group of people. is there fresh vision there? that's one of the things we'll be able to judge tonight. >> woodruff: a good point, mark. the president is replacing about half the cabinet, about half of them have announced they're

leaving. we know some of the new names but most of them haven't taken their jobs yet. you know, there were some conversation that, you know, as david was just saying that some of these folks are exhausted from four years of partisan warfare. >> i think it is. i think it's always difficult to replace somebody who is enjoying her work or his work. for any president. this is a president that, quite frankly, is comfortable with a smaller circle of people. >> woodruff: if i can just interrupt, the gentleman in the gray hair right there in the foreground of the picture, the president's newly named white house chief of staff. he had been the deputy national security advisor. somebody the president, we were told, was very comfortable with. >> yes. and very close personally as well as professionally. and i think the comfort as well as the confidence were crucial to dennis mcdonough elevation to that position. >> he's been there four years. he's been in the white house

over at n.s.c. for four years. it's not like bringing in somebody fresh and new. he tried that with bill daily who was chief of staff a couple years ago and sort of has rejected that model. he's promoting from within. >> woodruff: and i'm just reminded that talking to dr. jill biden the wife of vice president is a tacher from sandy hook elementary school. kate lynn i believe is her name from newtown connecticut. and that reminds us of the theme of much of not only the president's remarks tonight but the guests tonight, mark. in the chamber. at least a couple of dozen of members of congress have invited either victims of gun violence or... >> or surviving family members including with the first lady. >> woodruff: we just saw michelle obama, the first lady, talking with one of those special guests. and again i'm reminded that's the mother of the 15-year-old

teenager, young woman. she performed at the president's inauguration from chicago. she went home to chicago and then was gunned down in a shooting that was said to be just a mile or so from the president's house. >> that's right. and two people were arrested yesterday. >> woodruff: and one of the points the white house has been making is that gun violence is not something distant. it touches many manyamils in this country. that's one of the points. >> that's a realm where i think there's some possibility of some legislation. i'm not sure it will be as ambitious as what the president proposed but some sort of background check, magazine things. so again if you bracket some of the really divisive issues, you can get small steps down at least. >> woodruff: what we're going to hear from the president tonight is he's going to make a push, we're told, to ban assault weapons and to do something about background checks, tighten up background checks, to something about gun trafficking. but i think, mark, the general consensus is that on the assault

weapons ban, there may not be the political will to get that done. >> it's a heavy lift, judy. no question about it. >> woodruff: we're watching now as members of the supreme court... we know tonight that justice and ton inscalia, the longest serving justice is staying away this evening. we have not yet spotted one other justice, samuel alito who i guess remembered a few state of the unions... >> a nice view of susan rice who was almost or at least talked about for secretary of state. she was standing about three feet away from lindsey graham and john mccain two of the people who were hardest on her for the benghazi matter. we didn't see any interchange at all. usually they studiously ignore each other. >> i did john mccain and lindsey graham hug in an almost unseemly fashion. leon panetta the out going secretary of defense. they have been two of the most critical of the nominee to be

his successor, chuck hagel. it is date night too. i want to point out that. the democratic senator from colorado two years ago proposed, judy, that members instead of just democrats sitting with democrats and republicans... this year i think he's doing it with the republican senator from alaska, that peoplec with people from the other party and across the aisle. several members have done it. i think mccain and gram seem to be a couple of them. >> they share the popcorn. woodruff: that's a tradition they started a few years ago. a a number of members picked it up. it seemed to fade. >> it was done right after the gabrielle giffords. >> woodruff: she's here tonight. i don't think we've seen her in the last few minutes but we saw her just before we went on the air. she's there with her husband mark kelly. she and her husband have become the two, i guess, you could say the most prominent faces of this new push to do something about

gun violence. they're working with the mayors against... >> exactly. and especially in view of the fact that she has the support and endorsement of theational rifle association and she was elected from arizona. so she is a total convert to the cause. >> woodruff: and her husband mark kelly said we both own guns. we go hunting. we believe in guns for hunting but not assault weapons. >> the white house has done a good job of not making this a cultural issue. this has turned into a values issue. they've gone out of their way to say they respect second amendment rights and show the president going skeet shooting or whatever it was, trap shooting. they've done a good job of demoralizing the issue and allowing people who might be on the fence or might not want to feel their values are under assault. >> woodruff: that is interesting because we had not seen the president with a gun even...

>> that was last august the picture was taken. look at, judy, there's a certain passivity there. there was energy in that room right now. i mean... >> woodruff: well, they're waiting. >> usually there's a milling back and forth and kind of a... >> woodruff: higher energy. people who slap each other's backs for a living. they're good at that. i agree with that. >> it looks like a painting almost. >> woodruff: i'm told the president is right outside the door. but who knows how close he is. but in just a moment, the house sergeant of arms is going to... maybe it's about to happen in a moment. he's going to announce the president. >> watch he does. he comes down three steps, three rows. >> woodruff: paul irving. house sergeant of arms. >> puts his finger on a button. see him? he did that. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states.

( applause ) >> woodruff: so at nine minutes after 9:00 eastern time, president obama makes his way in. the official plan had been for him to come in a minute or two after. but i guess he has a prerogative of being a few minutes later than what we were told. >> he just can't stop himself. he just likes to chat and chat and chat. >> woodruff: who is, of course, the house majority leader right behind him, congressman from the state of virginia. >> separating harry reid from john boehner. >> woodruff: well, they pick a select group of the leadership of the house and senate to escort the president in. and i'm sure both of you saw today or yesterday there was an article describing the lengths to which some members of congress will go to get one of those coveted seats right there in the aisle so that the president will see them and they will be seen on national

television. >> on my twitter feed at about noon there were some reporters reporting that those seats were already getting filled up. those people have been there for nine hours. they deserve their five seconds of fame. >> they do. but in the past, speaking of the... in the past you've been able to just have a bag or some books. now security demands that you be there yourself physically. you may claim it by putting in your notebook with your name on it. now you have to physically be there because many of these members have been there for hours. and they're getting their, the moment in the sun. jean schmidt from ohio who is one of the regulars there, a republican, she lost the republican primary last year in cincinatti. she's not there and dale from michigan is retired who was a regular. >> blue is the new red judging by some of the dresses >> woodruff: and do you think the party, is that a party...

can we count on the fact that the red? well, we see former speaker and now house democratic leader minority leader nancy pelosi in blue. the president, david, looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. he's shaking hands and big smile on his face. >> he's actually been a different temper since the election. the fear of losing is gone. the vindication of winning is there. he's much more relaxed. he seems like a happier camper. >> woodruff: followed, as you said, mark, by eric cantor and jim clyburn, the congressman. he's also in the house leadership. congressman from south carolina. the only democrat in the south carolina delegation. and then behind them patrick leahy who is the president pro tempore. >> john mccain woodruff: who had less than friendly things to say about the president. we mentioned that tonight one of the themes is clearly gun...

addressing gun violence. you see some of the people there wearing the green ribbon. that is to signify what happened at newtown and the effort since then to do something to address the millions and millions of, what is it, over 100, 200 million guns in the united states, enough for every man, woman and child? so the president is greeting members of the supreme court. we started to say a minute ago that the chief justice is here. sam alito, justice alito not here. he very famously, at least we think he's not here, famously a few years ago when the president made the state of the union address and criticized the court's ruling on citens united, the campaign finance law... >> just going over to talk to mark kerr, the senator of illinois who suffered a stroke, giving him an embrace. >> woodruff: justice alito and justice scalia.

otherwise you have the members of the supreme court, the joint chiefs of staff, the leaders of all the military branches. and the president getting closer to the front of the chamber >> and the man who beat him. the only man to beat barack obama >> woodruff: you have a good eye for the back of somebody's head. >> congressman from the south side of chicago. bobby rush makes the point of always being there >> woodruff: had a huge effect on the president politically. >> if obama had won that race he wouldn't be president. >> he wouldn't be president now. nobody as yet... maybe he would have but nobody else has moved from there. >> woodruff: so the applause continues. the president, we don't know how long the president will speak. some have guessed it at 50 minutes. maybe an hour. we have no way of knowing until we look at our watches when it's all over. but, mark, i think you're right and david, this is not... you don't sense the excitement, the electricity in the room you have

at other state of the union addresses >> it will build. thank you we'll see. we'll see what he can do with the crowd. he certainly demonstrated an ability over his rather meteoric career to warm up a room when given a challenge. >> woodruff: speaker john boehner. >> the high privilege. members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) >> thank you. thank you.

thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, fellow americans. 51 years ago john f. kennedy declared to this chamber that the constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. ( applause ) it is my task, he said, to report the state of the union. to improve it is the task of us all.

tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the american people, there is much progress to report. after a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. ( applause ) after years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs. we buy more american cars than we have in five years. and less foreign oil than we have in 20. ( applause ) our housing market is healing. our stock market is rebounding.

and consumers, patients and homeowners enjoy stronger protection than ever before. ( applause ) so together we have cleared away the rubble of crisis. we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. ( applause ) but we gather here knowing that there are millions of americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can't find full-time employment. corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs. but for more than a decade wages

and incomes have barely budged. it is our generation's task then to reignite the true engine of america's economic growth, a rising, thriving middle class. ( applause ) it is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead. no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love. it is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many and not just the few. that it eouras free enter prize, rewards individual initiative and opens the doors of opportunity to every child

across this great nation. ( applause ) the american people don't expect government to solve every problem. they don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. but they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party. ( applause ) they do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. for they know that america moves forward only when we do so together. and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task ofs all.

now, our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our budget, decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery. over the last few years both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion. mostly through spending cuts but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1% of americans. as a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances. now we need to finish the job. and the question is how? in 2011 congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year.

these sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness, they'd devastate priorities like education and energy and medical research. they would certainly slow our recovery. and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. that's why democrats, republicans, business leaders and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in washington as the sequester, are a really bad idea. now, some in congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training. medicare and social security benefits. that idea is even worse.

( applause ) yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. and those of us who care deeply about programs like medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms. otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children. and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations. but we can't ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful. ( applause ) we won't grow the middle class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college on to families that are already

struggling or forcing communities to lay off more teachers and more cops and more firefighters. most americans, democrats, republicans and independents, understand that we can't just cut our way to prosperity. they know that broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction. with spending cuts and revenue. and with everybody doing their fair share. and that's the approach i offer tonight. on medicare, i'm prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan simpson bowls commission. (slight applause) already, the affordable care act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. (slight applause) and the reforms i'm proposing go even further. we'll reduce tax payor subsidies

to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. we'll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for medicare because our medical bills shouldn't be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital. they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive. ( applause ) and i am open to additional reforms from both parties so long as they don't violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. our government shouldn't make promises we cannot keep. but we must keep the promises we've already made. ( applause ) to hit the rest of our deficit

reduction target, we should do what leaders in both parties have already suggested and save hundreds of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions for the well off and the well connected. after all, why would we choose to make deeper cuts to education and medicare just to protect special interest tax breaks? how is that fair? why isn't it that deficit reduction is a big emergency justifying making cuts in social security benefits but not closing some loopholes? how does that promote growth? (slight applause) now is our best chance for bipartisan comprehendsive tax reform that encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit. ( applause ) we can get this done.

the american people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses spend less time filling out complicated forms and more time expanding and hiring. the tax code that ensures billionaires with high-powered accountants can't work the system and pay a lower rate than their hard-working secretaries, a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that are creating jobs right here in the united states of america. that's what tax reform can deliver. that's what we can do together. ( applause ) i realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy. politics will be hard for both sides. none of us will get 100% of what we want. but the alternative will cost us

jobs. hurt our economy. visit hardship on millions of hard-working americans. let's set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. and let's do it without the bringsmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors. the greatest nation on earth, the greatest nation on earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufacturing cries... from one manufactured crisis to the next. we can't do it. ( applause ) let's agree, let's agree right here right now to keep the people's government open and pay our bills on time and always uphold the full faith and credit of the united states of america. ( applause )

the american people have worked too hard for too long rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another. (smattering of applause) now most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of our agenda. let's be clear. deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan. (slight applause) a growing economy that creates good middle class jobs, that must be the north star that guides our efforts. ( applause ) every day we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation. how do we attract more jobs to our shores?

how do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? and how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living? a year-and-a-half ago i put forward an american jobs act that independent economists said would create more than one million new jobs. and i thank the last congress for passing some of that agenda. i urge this congress to pass the rest. (slight applause) but tonight i'll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the bunk it framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. let me repeat. nothing i'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. it is not a bigger government we need but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth. ( applause ) that's what we should be looking

for. our first priority is making america a magnet for new jobs in manufacturing. after shedding jobs for more than ten years our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. caterpillar is bringing jobs back from japan. ford is bringing jobs back from mexico. and this year apple will start making macs in america again. ( applause ) there are things we can do right now to accelerate this trend. last year we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in youngstown, ohio. a once shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the-art lab where new workers are mastering the 3d printing that has the possibility to revolutionize how

we make almost everything. there's no reason why this can't happen in other town. i'm announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing houses where businesses will partner with the department of defense and energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs, and i ask this congress to help create a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in america. we can get that done. ( applause ) now, if we want to make theest products, we also have to invest in the best ideas. every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy. every dollar. today our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to alzheimers.

they're developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs. devising new materials to make batteries ten times more powerful. now is not the time to gut these job-creating iestments in science and innovation. now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the space race. we need to make those investments. ( applause ) today no area holds more promise than our investments in american energy. after years of talking about it, we're finally poised to control our own energy future. we produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. we have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar.

with tens of thousands of good american jobs to show for it. we produce more natural gas than ever before. and nearly everyone's energy bill is lower because of it. and over the last four years our missions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our plan have actually fallen. but for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. ( applause ) now, it's true that no single event makes a trend. but the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. heat waves, droughts, wild fires, floods -- all are now

more frequent and more intense. we can choose to believe that super storm sandy and the most severe drought in decades and the worst wild fires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it's too late. ( applause ) now the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. i urge this congress to ghettoing, pursue a bipartisan market-based solution to climate change like the one john mccain and joe lieberman worked on together a few years ago. but if congress won't act soon to protect future generations, i will. i will direct my cabinet to come

up with executive actions we can take now and in the future to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy. and four years ago other countries dominated the clean energy market and the jobs that came with it. we've begun to change that. last year wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in america. so let's generate even more. solar energy gets cheaper by the year. let's drive down costs even further. as long as countries like china keep going all in on clean energy, so must we. in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. we need to encourage that. that's why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. that's got to be part of an "all of the above" plan but i also want to work with this congress

to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and our water. in fact much of our new found energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. so tonight i propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an energy security trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good. if a nonpartisan coalition of ceos and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. let's take their advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we put up with for far too long. i'm also issuing a new goal for america. let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years. ( applause ) we'll work with the states to do

it. those states were the best ideas to create jobs and more energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings. we'll receive federal support to help make that happen. america's energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair. ask any ceo where they would rather locate and hire, a country with deteriorating roads and bridges or one with high speed rail and internet. high-tech schools, self-healing power grids. the c.e.o. of siemens america that brought hundreds of johns to north carolina said if we upgrade our infrastructure they'll bring even more jobdz. that's the attitude of a lot of companies all around the world. i know you want these job-creating projects in your district. i've seen all those ribbon-cuttings. (slight laughter) so tonight i propose a "fix it

first" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. ( applause ) and to make sure tax payers don't shoulder the whole burden i'm proposing a partnership to rebuild america that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most. modern ports to move our goods. modern pipelines to withstand a storm. modern schools worthy of our children. let's prove there's no better place to do business than here in the united states of america. let's start right away. we can get this done. and part of our our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector. the good news is our housing

market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years. home purchases are up nearly 50%. and construction is expanding again. but even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected. too many families who never missed a payment and want to refinance are being told, no. that's holding our entire economy back. we need to fix it. right now there's a bill in this congress that would give every responsible homeowner in america the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today's rates. democrats and republicans have supported it before. so what are we waiting for? take a vote and send me that bill. ( applause )

why would we be against that? why would that be a partisan issue? helping folks refinance? right now overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home. what's holding us back? let's streamline the process and help our economy grow. these initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, housing all these things will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand and create new jobs. but none of it will matter unless we also equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs. ( applause ) and that has to start at the earliest possible age.

you know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. but today fewer than three in ten four-year-olds are enrolled in a high quality preschool program. most middle class parents can't afford a few hundreds bucks a week for a private preschool. for poor kids, who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. tonight i propose working with states to make high quality preschool available to every single child in america. ( applause ) that's something we should be able to do.

every dollar we invest in high quality early childhood education can save more than $7 later on by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. in states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like georgia or oklahoma, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. we know this works. so let's do what works and make sure none of our children starts the race of life already behind. let's give our kids that chance. ( applause ) let's also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job.

right now countries like germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges. those german kids are ready for a job when they graduate high school. they've been trained for the jobs that are there. now at schools like p-tech in brooklyn, a collaboration between new york public schools and city university of new york and i.b.m., students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering. we need to give every american student opportunities like this. and four years ago... ( applause ) four years ago we started race to the top, the competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards. all for about 1% of what we ve spent on education each year. tonight i'm announcing a new challenge: to redesign america's

high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. and we'll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. the skills today's employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future. now even with better high schools, most young people will need some higr education. the simple fact that the more education you've got, the more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the middle class. but today's skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education or settle them with unsustainable debt. through tax credits, grants and better loans, we've made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. the tax payers can't keep on subsidizing higher and higher

and higher costs for higher education. colleges must do their part to keep costs down. it's our job to make sure that they do. ( applause ) so tonight i ask congress to change the higher education act so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid. ( applause ) are and tomorrow my administration will release a new college scorecard that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck. now to grow our middle class our citizens have to have access to the education and training that today's jobs require. but we also have to make sure that mercury mains a place where everyone who is willing to work, everybody who is willing to work

hard, has the chance to get ahead. our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. and right now leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, faith communities, they all agree that the time has come to pass compressive immigration reform. now is the time to get it done. ( cheers and applause ) now is the time to get it done. really form means stronger border security, and we can build on the progress my administration has already made. putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history. and reducing illegal crossing to their lowest levels in 40 years.

really form means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship, a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty. learning english and going to theack of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. ( applause ) and really form means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods and attract the highly skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy. ( cheers and applause ) in other words, we know what needs to be done. and as we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill. and i applaud their efforts.

let's get this done. send me a comprehendsive immigration reform bill in the next few months and i will sign it right away and america will be better for it. let's get it done. ( cheers and applause ) let's get it done. we can't stop there. we know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace and free from the fear of domestic violence. today the senate passed the violence against women's act that joe biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago, and i now urge the house to do the same. ( applause ) good job, joe. and i ask this congress to

declare that women should earn a living equal to their efforts. and finally pass the paycheck fairness act this year. ( applause ) we know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day's work with honest wages. but today a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. even with the tax relief we put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. that's wrong. that's why since the last time this congress raised the minimum wage 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher. tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth,

no one who works full time should have to live in poverty and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. ( applause ) we should be able to get that done. this single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. it could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank. rent or eviction. scraping by or finally getting ahead. for businesses across did the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from the government. in fact working folks shouldn't have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while c.e.o. pay has never been higher. so here's an idea that governor romney and i actually agreed on last year. let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living so that it

finally becomes a wage you can live on. ( applause ) tonight let's also recognize that there are communities in this country where no matter how hard you work, it is virtually impossible to get ahead. factory towns decimated from years of plants packing up. inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural. young adulls are still fighting for their first job. america is not a place where the chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. that's why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class for all who are willing to climb them. let's offer incentives to companies that hire americans who got what itu'8y>sq@r that job opening but have been out of work for so long that no one will give them a chance anymore. let's put people back to work

rebuilding vacant homes in rundown neighborhoods. this year my administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in america to get these communities back on their feet. now, we'll work with local leaders to target resources and public safety and education and housing. we'll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and invest and we'll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrence to marriage for low-income couples and do more to encourage fatherhood. what makes you a man isn't the ability to conceive a child. it's having the courage to raise one. ( applause ) we want to encourage that. we want to help that. stronger family. stronger community. stronger america.

it is this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle class -- that has always been the source of our progress at home of the it's also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world. tonight we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. because of them, we can say with confidence that america will complete its mission in afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al qaeda. ( applause ) already we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. this spripg our forces will move

into a support role while afghan security forces take the lead. tonight i can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 american troops will come home from afghanistan. this drawdown will continue. by the end of next year, our war in afghanistan will be over. ( cheers and applause ) beyond 2014, america's commitment to a unified and sovereign afghanistan will endure. but the nature of our commitment will change. we're negotiating an agreement with the afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos. and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the

remnants of al qaeda and their affiliates. today the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self. ( applause ) it's true. different al qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged from the arabian peninsula to africa. the threats these groups pose is evolving but to meet this threat we don't need to send tens and thousands of our sons and dauers abroad or occupy other nations. instead we'll need to help countries like yemen, libya, somalia, provide for their own security and help allies who take the fight to terrorists have we have in mali and where necessary through a range of capables we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to america. ( applause )

now, as we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. that's why my administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable, legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism efforts. throughout we have kept congress fully informed of it and i recognize in our democracy no one should just take my word for it that we're doing things the right way. in the months ahead i will continue to engage congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances. but that our efforts are even more transparent to the american people and to the world. (slight applause) of course our challenges don't end with al qaeda.

america will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world's most dangerous weapons. the regime in north korea must know they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international obligations. the provocations of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them as we stand by our allies, strengthen our missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats. likewise, the leaders of iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations. we will do what is necessary to prevent that from getting a nuclear weapon. ( applause ) at the same time, we'll engage

russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenal and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands. because our ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead. and meet our obligations. america must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber attacks. now, we know hackers steal people's identities and infiltrate private emails. we know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems. we cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy. that's why earlier today, i signed a new executive order that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing

information sharing and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy. ( applause ) but now congress must act as well. by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks. this is something we should be able to get done on a bipartisan basis. ( applause ) now even as we protect our people, we should remember that today's world presents not just dangers, not just threats. it presents opportunities. to boost american exports, support american jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of asia. we intend to complete negotiations on a transpacific partnership. and tonight i'm announcing that we will launch talks on a

compress i have transatlantic straight and partnership with the european union because trade that is fair and free across the atlantic supports millions of good-paying american jobs. we also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all. not only because it creates new markets, more stable order in certain regions of the world but also because it's the right thing to do. in many places people live on little more than a dollar a day. the united states will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades by connecting more people to the global economy. by empowering women, by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve. and helping communities to feed and power and educate themselves. by saving the world's children

from preventible deaths, and by realizing the promise of an aids-free generation which is within our reach. ( applause ) you see, america must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom during this period of historic change. i saw the power of hope last year in burma when ain ain welcomed an american president into a home where she had been in prison for years when thousands of burmese lined the streets waving american flags including a man who said there is justice and law in the united states. i want our country to be like that. in defense of freedom, we'll remain the anchor of strong alliances from the americas to

africa, from europe to asia. in the middle east, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights and support stable transitions to democracy. (slight applause) we know the process will be messy. and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like egypt, but we can and will insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people. we'll keep the pressure on a syrian regime that has murdered its own people and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every syrian. we will stand steadfast with israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace. ( applause )

these are the messages i'll deliver when i travel to the middle east next month. and all this work depends on the courage and sacrifice of those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk. our diplomats, our intelligence officers, and the men and women of the united states armed forces. as long as i'm commander in chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known. ( applause ) we'll invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and more time spending. we will ensure equal treatment

for all service members and equal been anies for their families -- gay and straight. ( applause ) we will draw upon the courage and skills of our sisters and daughters and moms because women have proven under fire that they are ready for combat. we will keep faith with our veterans, investing world class care including mental health care, for our wounded warriors. ( applause ) supporting our military famili families, giving our veterans the benefits and education and job opportunities that they have earned. i want to thank my wife michelle and dr. jill biden for their continued dedication to serving

our military families as well as they have served us. thank you, honey. thank you, jill. defending our freedom though is not just the job of our military alone. we must all do our part to make sure our god-given rights are protected here at home. that includes one of the most fundamental rights of a democracy, the right to vote. ( applause ) when any american, no matter where they live or what their

party, are denied that right because they can't afford to wait for five or six or seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. so tonight i'm announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting experience in america. and it definitely needs improvement. i'm asking two long-time experts in the field who, by the way, recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for governor romney's campaign to lead it. we can fix this. and we will. the american people demand it and so does our democracy. ( applause )

of course what i've said tonight matters little if we don't come together to protect our most precious resource, our children. it has been two months since newtown. i know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. but this time it's different. 9! overwhelming majorities of americans, americans who believe in the second amendment, have common together around common sensory form like backgrounds checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. ( applause ) senators, senators, senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buyin buyins for resale to criminals. police chiefs are asking our...

to get weapons of war and massive magazines off our streets because these police chiefs are seeing their guys and gals being outgunned. each of these proposals deserves a vote in congress. ( applause ) now, if you want to vote no, that's your choice. but these proposals deserve a vote. because in the two months since newtown, more than 1,000 birthdays, graduations, anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun. more than a thousand of them. one of those we lost was a young girl named ideah pendleton.

she was 15 years old. she loved fig newtons. she was a majorette. she was so good to her friends they all thought they were her best friend. just three weeks ago she was here in washington with her classmates performing for her country at my inauguration. and a week later, she was shot and killed in a chicago park after school. just a mile away from my house. her parents are in this chamber tonight along with more than two dozen americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence. they deserve a vote. they deserve a vote.

they deserve a vote. gabby giffords deserves a vote. the families of newtown deserve a vote. ( cheers and applause ) the families of aurora deserve a vote. the families of tucson and blacks burg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote. ( cheers and applause ) they deserve a simple vote. our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country.

in fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts will perfectly solve all the challenges i've outlined tonight. but we were never sent here to be perfect. we were sent here to make what difference we can. to secure this nation. expand opportunities. uphold our ideals through the hard, often frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government. we were sent here to look out for our fellow americans the same way they look out for one another. every single day. usually without fanfare all across this country. we should follow their example. we should follow the example of a new york city nurse named menchu sanchez. when hurricane sandy plunged her

hospital into darkness she wasn't thinking about how her own home was faring. her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe. we should follow the example of a north miami woman named desaline victor. when she arrived at her polling place she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. and as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet or whether folks like her would get to have their say. hour after hour a throng of people stayed in line to support her because desiline is 102 years old. they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read, "i voted." ( applause )

there's desiline. we should follow the example of a police officer named brian murphy. when a gunman opened fire on a siek temple in wisconsin, brian was the first to arrive. he did not consider his own safety. he fought back until help arrived and ordered his fellow officers to protect the safety of the fellow americans worshipping inside. even as he lay bleeding from 12 bullet wounds. wh asked how he did that, brian said, "that's just the way

we're made." that's just the way we're made. we may do different jobs and wear different uniforms and hold different views than the person beside us, but as americans we all share the same proud title: we are citizens. it's a word that doesn't just describe our nationality or our legal status. it describes the way we're made. it describes what we believe. it captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. and our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others. and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all as citizens of these united states to be the

authors of the next great chapter of our ameran story. thank you. god bless you and god bless these united states of america. ( cheers and applause ) >> woodruff: for exactly one hour, just a second or two shy of one hour, president obama delivers his fifth state of the union address. the first state of the union of his second term in office after having been re-elected in november. it is a speech that touched on so many domestic issues, principally first and foremost theudget deficit. went through a list of other issues from energy to manufacturing, touched on foreign policy and at the end reached, i think it's fair to say, an emotional crescendo when he talked about gun violence in america and recognized a number of individuals there in the house chamber who have been touched by gun violence. either they're the survivors,

surviving family members or who themselves have been victims of gun violence. mark, we were counting, i think, as he went through... i know i made some notes. almost a dozen new initiatives the president announced on everything from international trade to higher education to doing something about the voting experience in america. it seemed like the president was trying to inject some energy into his second term. >> i agree wu, judy. i just want to underline the emotional apex of the evening was undoubtedly the "deserve a vote" chant that the president led when he spoke on gun control and the need, making the argument that our police departments were outgunned by those with assault weapons with criminal intent. and i thought that a speech that quite frankly lacked a lot of

energy and emotional response until that point. i mean there were moments -- and you're right there was a lot of substance in the speech -- the idea of the war in afghanistan being over. a pledge by the end of next year. >> woodruff: but, david, i think it's fair to say the crowd didn't really come to its feet in any sustained way until he got to guns >> well, it didn't really have much rhetoric to it. it was a list of programs. they may have made a conscious decision they don't want to have a big f.d.r. type theory behind it. they want to say here are small, common sense things we can do. not to make people afraid of some huge encroaching big government. it may be a temperament or a strategy. let's keep it prosaic. there were a list of all these different things he wants done. it was easy to see the size and the scope, raising the minimum wage to $9. something very clear. helping people refinance their

mortgages. tough to know exactly what he wants to do. i was struck by how much time was spent on the budget and fiscal stuff and especially tax reform. we've never seen him talk about tax reform. he's been very luke warm about it for the past four years. secondly early childhood education. he emphasized that. he's mentioned it frequently but never again in the space that he gave it. you don't know what he's going to do. is he really going to reform head start and take it out of h.s.s. and put it in the department of education where it belongs or is it just more symbolic >> woodruff: he had made this statement early on in his speech that the programs he would be announcing or the initiatives he would be announcing tonight he said won't cost us a dime. and yet you listen to that. launching something to make early childhood education available to every child in america? how do you do that >> he said it wouldn't increase the deficit >> woodruff: i stand corrected. he can raise taxes by closing loopholes. he was not quite fair on the

loophole closing. to raise money he talked about getting rid of special interest loopholes. you have to do the charitable giving deductions. those are popular loopholes. i'm not sure he's going to raise a lot of money because i don't think those things are doable >> woodruff: the question is can the two parties come together on this? we've heard a lot of... we've heard democrats and republicans all over the map on the loopholes >> there were a couple of other points, judy, that hit me. one was, i mean, there are facts that he brought in that most americans were unaware of. last year wind energy added nearly half of all capacity in america. i think that would come to most americans as interesting. and the home purchases are up by 50%. but, you're right. the language he used was fewer than three in ten four-year-olds are in high-quality preschool program today. and the two states he cited,

both have republican governors and republican delegations. georgia and oklahoma as the models that he wanted... >> woodruff: which is interesting. he's talking about spending money now that will be paid back later. but children will go on to get a lot of education. they will be contributing members of society >> great programs. oklahoma is the model program. it's done by republicans. so it should be a bipartisan source of agreement. but still these things do cost a lot of money. when they've tried to expand early childhood in places like california with rob reiner's proposition it's hit political head wind and was defeated. these are not easy lists. they're reasonably expensive. to me worth doing but they're heavy. >> woodruff: what about raising the minimum wage? we just double checked it. it's $7.25 i believe right now. to raise it to $9 an hour? >> well, you know, i think it's a pretty straightforward argument. if you work 40 hours a week, 52 hours or 52 weeks a year, you

should rise above poverty. i mean... >> woodruff: that was his argument >> that's the argument. i think it's a straightforward one. $9 an hour. 10 states already linked their minimum wage to inflation. >> the counterargument of course is that actually relatively few people are working full-time at the minimum wage. it's generally part-time workers. the second argument is and this is reasonably well established although somewhat debated among economists you do lose a lot of jobs. the restaurants and other places cut workers if they have to pay each individual more. >> woodruff: even if it's a dollar or something >> they're competing... re are competing economic views on that. in fact, between pennsylvania and new jersey study suggests that that was not the case. you know, the idea that if somebody can't pay the minimum wage to their workers then they probably shouldn't be in business. >> woodruff: while we're chewing over, shall we say, the president's remarks, he continues to make his way out of the house chamber.

followed by a group of leaders of the house and senate greeted maybe by some of the same people who welcomed him when he came in. they're there to say hello to him and thank him as he goes out. i guess he's being asked for autographs, copies of the speech. >> that's exactly what it is. woodruff: we just want to let our audience know that once the president leaves the house chamber five minutes later i guess the clock will start running after he leaves, we hear the republican response from the junior senator from the state of florida, marco rubio. so, we will be looking for that. >> the president spoke about learning english. and as a precondition to citizenship. marco rubio one of the reasons he was chosen is that he is totally, perfectly bilingual and will deliver the speech in both english and spanish.

>> woodruff: he'll go back and forth >> i think he's already done it in spanish. >> woodruff: and they'll be broadcasting it. but he's of course the son of cuban emigres. >> and demate coras have been doing this for a long time. i mean and toneeville rogue owes a did. they combined one republican. >> woodruff: we're listen to go the house speaker saying the house will come to order. we see the president just about to exit the door wanting to shake every single hand. i remember when president clinton was in office, reaching three and four and five rows back to make sure he didn't miss a single hand. on his way out the door. >> and the pages. they line up back there. >> woodruff: we will wait a few minutes before we hear from senator rubio. let's go back and talk about what the president had tosay, david. when it comes to the deficit.

and dealing with the debt. it sounded to me as if he not only stood his... he didn't say anything new but he stood his ground. he said, i don't believe this country needs to do something about taxes, cut taxes on the backs of senior citizens who are counting on medicare and counting on social security. >> though he did very interestingly say he was in favor of modest medicare reform. he's always given a sort of gesture to that. it was not enthusiastically embraced by a crowd. there was not a standing ovation for reforming medicare >> woodruff: didn't he say, i'm referring to those wealthy seniors, seniors who are, you know, who are at the the higher income bracket >> and he has talked about leaving everything that was on the table in the earlier budget negotiations all that stuff is mostly still on the table. some of that is what they call chain c.p.i. which is the cost of living adjustment for social security, means testing, a little medicare. some of the more affluent recipients would see some of the been anies cut.

some of that stuff is provisionally still on the table. i remain a little dubious we'll have the sort of budget deal that has eluded us so far. he was pretty aggressionive on the sequestration and pretty in your face on the republicans some of their proposals on the sequestration. a lot of republicans welcome sequestration at this point which is the automatic spending cuts. >> woodruff: explain why the consumer price index, the c.p.i., solution to making a change in medicare and means testing are not enough for many republicans. why are they saying that there must be a rise in the eligibility age? >> that or that the republicans think as long as you have a free-for-service system which is what medicare is, where you're paid by the amount of services you're delivered not by the outcomes that's the fundamental that the messed up. there are two ways of measuring inflation. this would raise you more money because it would give you a higher inflation measure that produces more revenue as people

have to pay into it. that would produce some, a bit of money. and raising retirement age wouldn't produce that much money. means testing would he a bit of money. these are chunks to close the deficit but the get is now $16 trillion. these programs are going to consume every single dollar of federal revenue in 15 or 20 years. so it's a gigantic problem. and the things that are now on the table none of them come close to solving the problem. they're little steps. >> woodruff: so, mark, are republicans talking about dramatic changes in social security? >> republicans basically the budget the republicans go for is a form of voucherrizing, as democrats call it, orringing privatization to social security. to medicare. and what i think we saw tonight was that the middle is is a very lonely place. i mean, the president talked about some trimming of the cost and limiting the cost growth of

medicare. and not even heart-hearted applause. it mean it was muted applause. so the republicans are not pleased and the democrats are displeased >> woodruff: i'm not sure vice president even biden applauded >> i don't think he did. he applauded ju about everything. >> the president made the core point and this really should appeal to democrats, if you believe in head start spending and all the other stuff democrats believe in education, infrastructure, there's no money for it because it's all going to medicare, social security, defense and other big-ticket items. the president made this core point. if you please in the domestic discretionary program you have to pay attention to entitlements >> woodruff: and where is this money going to come from? we're less than a minute now i believe from marco rubio delivering the republican response. we should point on the, mark, that in addition to senator rubio tonight, senator rand paul of kentucky is going to be making the tea party response. we're not... we don't happen to be showing that but it's happening in washington at the.

.. >> he's the triple play preceded by michelle bachman and herman kaine, the two presidential candidates over the previous two years. he's doing it this year. >> to be fair he made a very substantive speech on foreign policy. he has a much more conservative if you want to put thait way foreign policy vision th either the republican party or the democratic party. i'd say it's a real addition to the debate >> woodruff: you're talking about senator rand paul >> he's a significant figure. woodruff: we are just i'm told just about to be able to go to the place where senator marco rubio is appearing from speaker boehner's conference room at the capitol. >> good evening i'm mark owe reub over. i'm blessed to represent florida in the united states senate. let me begin by congratulating president obama on the start of his second term. tonight i have the honor of

responding to his state of the union address on behalf of my fellow republicans. and i'm especially honored to be addressing our brave men and women serving in the armed forces and diplomatic posts around the world. you may be thousands of miles away but you are always in our prayers. the state of the union address is always a reminder of how unique america is. for much of human history most people were trapped in stagnant societies where a tiny minority always stayed on top. and no one else even had a chance. but america's exceptional because we believe that every life at every stage is precious and that everyone everywhere has a god-given right to go as far as their talents and hard work will take them. like most americans for me, this ideal is personal. my parents immigrated here in pursuit of the opportunity to improve their life and to give their children the chance at an even better one. they made it to the middle class. my dad working as a bartender and my mother as a cashier and a

maid. i didn't inherit anyoney from them but i inheritedded something far better: the opportunity to accomplish my dreams. this opportunity, to make it to the middle class or beyond no matter where you start out in life, it isn't bestowed on us from washington. it comes from a vibrant free economy where people can risk their own money to open a business. when they succeed they hire more people who in turn invest or spend their money they make helping others start a business and create jobs. presidents in both parties from john f. kennedy to ronald reagan have known that our free enrpriseconomy is the source of our middle class prosperity. but president obama? he believes it's the cause of our problems. that the economic downturn happened because our government didn't tax enough, spend enough or control enough. and therefore as you heard tonight, his solution to virtually every problem we face is for washingt to tax more, borrow more and spend more. this idea that our problems were

caused by a government that was too small is just not true. in fact the major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies, and the idea that more taxes and more government spending is the best way to help hard-working middle class tax payers, that's an old idea that's failed every time it's been tried. more government isn't going to help you get ahead. it's going to hold you back. more government isn't going to create more opportunities. it's going to limit them. and more government isn't going to inspire new ideas. new businesses and new private sector jobs. it's going to create uncertainty because more government breeds complicated rules and laws that small businesses can't afford to follow. because more government raises taxes on employers who then pass the costs on to their employees through fewer hours, lower pay and even lay-offs. and because many government programs that claim to help the middle class often end up hurting them. for example, obama care.

it was supposed to help middle class americans afford health insurance. but now some people are losing their health insurance they were happy with. because obama care created expensive requirements for companies with more than 50 employees, now many of these companies aren't hiring. not only that, they're being forced to lay people off and switch from full-time employees to part-time workers. now does this mean there's no role for government? of course not. it plays a crucial part in keeping us safe, enforcing rules and providing some security. against the risks of modern life. but government's role is wisely limited by the constitution. and it can't play an essential role when it ignores those limits. there are valid reasons to be concerned about the president's plan to grow our government. but any time anyone opposes the president's agenda, he and his allies usually respond by falsely attacking their motives. when we point out that no matter how many job-killing laws we pass, our government can't

control the weather, he accuses of wanting dirty water and dirty air. when we suggest we strengthen our safety net programs by giving states more flexibility to manage them, he accuses us much wanting to leave the elderly and the disabled to fend for themselves. tonight he even criticized us for refusing to raise taxes to delay military cuts, cuts that were his idea in the first pla e place. but his favorite attack of all is that those of us who don't agree with him, that we only care about rich people. mr. president, i still live in the same working class neighborhood i grew up in. my neighbors aren't millionaires. they're retirees that depend on social security and medicare. their workers who have to get up early tomorrow morning and go to work to pay the bills. they're immigrants who came here because they were stuck in poverty and the countries where the government dominated the economy. the tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle class families. it will cost them their raises.

it will cost them their benefits. it may even cost some of them their jobs. it will hurt seniors because it does nothing to save medicare and social security. mr. president, i don't oppose your plans because i want to protect the rich. i oppose your plans because i want to protect my neighbors. hard-working middle class americans who don't need us to come up with a plan to grow the government. they need a plan to grow the middle class. economic growth is the best way to help the middle class. unfortunately our economy actuallyhal ra during the last three months of 2012. but as if we can get the economy to glow at just 4% a year, it would create middle class jobs and it would reduce our deficits by almost $4 trillion over the next decade. tax increases can't do this. raising taxes won't create private sector jobs and there's no realistic tax increase that could lower our deficits by almost $4 trillion. that's why i hope the president will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work

with us to achieve real growth n our economy. one of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. of course, solar and wind energy should be a part of our energy portfolio. but god also blessed america with abundant coal, oil and natural gas. instead of wasting more tax payer money on so-called clean energy companies like open up more federal lands for safe and responsible exploration. let's reform our energy regulations so that they're reasonable and based on common sense. if we can grow our energy industry, it will make us energy independent. it will create middle class jobs and it will help bring manufacturing back from places like china. simplifying our tax code will also help the middle class because it will make it easier for small businesses to hire and grow. now we agree with the president. we should lower our corporate tax rate which is one of the highest in the world. so the companies will start bringing their money and their jobs back here from overseas.

we can also help grow our economy if we have a legal immigration system that allows us to attract and assimilate the world's best and brightest. we need a responsible, permanent solution to the problem of those who are here illegally. but first we must follow through on the broken promises of the past to secure our borders and enforce our laws. helping the middle class grow will also require an educational system that gives people the skills today's jobs entail and the knowledge that tomorrow's world will require. we need to incentivize local school districts to offer more a.p. courses and more vocational and career training and we need to give all parents especially the parents of children with special needs the opportunity to send their children to the school of their choice. and because college tuition costs have grown so fast we need to change the way we pay for higher education. i believe in federal financial aid. i couldn't have gone to college without it. but it's not just about spending more money.

it's also about strengthening and modernizing. the 21st century work force should not be forced to accept 20thson tur he'll education solutions. today students aren't only 18-year-olds. they're returning veterans. they're single parents who stied to get the education they need to ern a decent wage and they're workers who have lost jobs that are never coming back and need to be retrained. we need student aid that does not discriminate against programs that nontraditional students rely on like on-line courses or degree programs that give you credit for work experience. when i finish school i owed over $100,000 in student loans. a debt i paid off just a few months ago. today many graduates face massive student loans. we must give students more information on the costs and benefits of the student loans they're taking out. all these measures are key to helping grow the economy. we won't be able to sustain a vibrant middle class unless we solve our debt problem.

every dollar our government borrows is money that isn't being invested to create jobs. and the insert tee created by the debt is one reason why many businesses aren't hiring. the president loves to blame the debt on president bush but president obama created more debt in four years than his predecessor did in eight. the real cause of our debt is that our government has been spending $1 trillion more than it takes in every year. that's why we need a balanced budget amendment. the biggest obstacle to balancing the budget are programs where spending is already locked in. one of these programs is medicare that is especially important to me. it provided my father the care he needed to battle cancer and ultimately to die with dignity. and it pays for the care of my mother is receiving right now. i would never support any changes to medicare that would hurt seniors like my mother. but anyone who is in favor of leaving medicare exactly the way it is right now is in favorf bankrupting it. republicans have offered a

detailed and credible plan that helps save medicare without hurting today's retirees. instead of playing politics with medicare when is the president going to offer his detailed plan to save it? tonight would have been a good time for him to do it. of course we face other challenges as well. we were all heart broken by the recent tragedy in connecticut. we must effectively be able to rise to the violence in our country. but unconstitutionally undermining the second amendment rights of law-abiding americans is not the way to do it. n foreign policy, america continues to be indispensable to the global liberty. property and safeguarding human rights. the world is a better place when america is the strongest nation on earth. but we can't remain powerful. if we don't have an economy that can afford it. in the short time i've been here in washington nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. the choice isn't just between big government or big business.

what we need is an accountable, efficient and effective government that allows small and new businesses to create more middle class jobs. we don't have to raise taxes to avoid the president's devastating cuts to our military. republicans have passed a plan that replaces these cuts with responsible spending reform. in order to balance our budget the choice doesn't have to be either higher taxes or dramatic benefit cuts for those in need. instead we should grow our economy so we can create new tax payers not new taxes. our government can afford to help those who truly can't help themselves. truth is every problem can't be solved by the government. many are caused by the moral breakdown in our society, and the answer to these challenges lie primarily in our families and our faith. not our politicians. despite our differences, i know that both republicans and democrats love america. i pray we can come together and solve our problems. because the choices before us could not be more important.

if we can get our economy healthy again, our children will be the most prosperous americans ever. and if we do not, we will forever be known as the geration responsible for america's decline. out a time when one showdown after another ends in short-term deals that do little or nothing about our real problems some are starting to believe that our government leaders just can't or won't make the right choices anymore. but our strength has never come from the white house or the capitol. it's always come from our people. a people united by the american idea that if you have a dream and you're willing to work hard, nothing should be impossible. americans have always sell brailted and been inspiredded by those who succeed. but it's the dreams of tho who are still trying to make it that sets our nation apart. tonight all across this land, parents will hold their newborn children in their arms for their first time. many of these parents... for many of these parents life has

not gone the way they planned. maybe they were born in circumstances they found difficult to escape. maybe they've made some mistakes along the way. they're they're young mothers all along the father of their child long gone but tonight when they look into the eyes of their child for the first time, their lives will chan forever. because when those eyes, they will see what my parents saw in me and what your parents saw in you. they will see all the hopes and dreams they once had for themselves. this dream of a better life for their children, it's the hope of parents everywhere. politicians here and throughout the world have long promised that more government can make those dreams come true. but we americans have always known better. from our earliest days we embraced economic liberty and because we did, mercury mains one of the few places on earth where dreams like these even have a chance. each time our nation has faced great challenges, what has kept

us together was our shared hope for a better life. now let that hope bring us together again to solve the challenges of our times and write the next chapter in the amazing story of the greatest nation man has ever known. thank you for listening. may god bless all of you. may god bless our president. and may god continue to bless the united states of america. >> woodruff: florida republican senator marco rubio delivering his party's response to president obama's state of the union address. taking issue with virtually every point the president made tonight, particularly on the economy, particularly on a solution to deal with the deficit and the debt. and even on issues like immigration and particularly on gun control saying, yes, we need to do something to address gun violence but not in a way that threatens americans second amendment right, of course,

being the second amendment for the constitution. david brooks, marco rubio, a rising star in the republican party? did he live up to his billing tonight? >> he is the rising star. he's the only hope some people say. he'd say he is the most impressive of the young people to be running for the nomination and already is running from what we saw in the last ten minutes. i thought he delivered it as effectively as you can these things. i i liked the lane if you're for keeping medicare the way it is you're in favor of bankrupting. on substance i was disappointed by the speech. republican party has lost five out of the last six elections. probably should have a new message. they're doing a locality of rethinking but none of it was evident in this speech. he ended with maybe the single mom looking into her child's eyes. what are you offering her? you don't have to believe in big government to think there must be some positive thing that could help that young woman and

her kid achieve social mobility. if your whole storys economic liberty you're not offering much. i didn't see much rethinking in this speech given by any republican in the last 20 years >> woodruff: what did you hear mark? >> i think david hit it right on the nose. i really do. he's a great message just a very mediocre message. there really wasn't anything to it. you can understand why... this is probably the most startling development for republicans out of 2012 was that hispanic vote or an increasing percentage of the electorate and an increasing percentage of them are voting democratic. here's the statistic why marco rubio is the hottest property. only 36% of mexican-born immigrants to america who are eligible for citizenship have applied for citizenship. that's about half of most immigrants who come to this country. if they were ever energized the republicans are just, i mean... >> woodruff: they vote democratic >> yes. a similar percentage of those

who are already voting. so i mean the urgency they need for a messenger with marco rubio's personal story, he's bilingual, his personal history is understandable but i just didn't get... there was not a mean speech. democrats love america. republicans love america. it was not mean toward the president i didn't think. but it was just boilerplate: it didn't upset anybody in the tea party i don't think >> woodruff: he attacked the president for talking growing government much bigger government and being in favor of government programs but it seemed to me that president obama went out of his way to say that that's not what he wanted to do. he did list programs. .. >> judy, he had a wish list. the president did. that was kind of startling. it made harry truman look like a piper just pushing medicare and the marshal plan. i mean he had a lot of lists the

president did >> woodruff: okay. we won't debate it here but i mean he wasn't talking about creating a new government agency. he was saying we need to do something to get colleges to reduce their tuition. what did he say a college scorecard? >> well, if we're going to consider giving a scorerd to colleges i would say that's an expansion of federal power. i do think the president wants to expand federal power. the trick for republicans to say we don't want to go as far as they do. they have a lot more faith in central planning than we do. nonetheless we do understand that the rising tide in longer lifts all boats. we can see the statistics as much as anybody else. middle class people are not seeing their wages go up. somehow there's a market failure there. we don't want to go all the way over into barack obama land. we do want to do this. here's our positive agenda. where was the positive agenda here? >> does anybody seriously believe that you c do this with just cuts? thoughtful people understand it's going to require tax increases as well as spending cuts.

to bring a solvency back to this country. to bring a fiscal sanity. senator rubio just preferred to just talk about these cuts. these painless ouchless cuts that, you know, we don't know where they're coming from and nobody will be hurt. economic liberty is a marvelous marvelous concept. deregulation, you know, nobody wants that, you know, flying a new plane where the batteries are in trouble. you want to know what the federal government is going to do about it >> in a lot of the republican speeches in the last month or two there has been some rethinking. this guy is running for president. his agenda is how do i make republican primary voters in ohio happy with me with this speech. he's playing to that crowd rather than the people who are doing the rethinking. if we have something doing the republican response who was not a resumed candidate maybe we would have heard something different >> woodruff: if you were an american out there watching the president tonight and maybe you stuck around and you heard

senator rubio, do you think that things are going to get done in washington? they're going to change your life? i mean, you're right, mark, the president did tick off a number of initiatives... >> global locations. i mean that is earmark city. >> woodruff: my question is, okay, so if he hadn't done that, if he had just come and talked about the fight he's having with the republicans over what to do about the deficit, he could have spoken for 10 or 15 minutes and said thank you very much >> i thought the president was upbeat tonight. i really did. i thought he was. we talked about the lack of energy in the hall but i thought he was upbeat. i thought he gave positive news and good developments. when he did return to the 70,000 bridges that we know have to be repaired and we all understand that and the ports, i mean, there was a lot in terms of economic sort of ambition to it.

so i think that the president gave, to me, what was sort of a tradition conventional message and the highlight came back to his moment on gun control. i don't know if that's what they want. if that is going to be remembered. intensive on the part of the obama people that they thaw, judy, he had talked too much about human rights and sort of liberal agenda, social rights at the inaugural. this was going to be meat and potatoes >> woodruff: let's listen to a part of what the president said at the end when he talked about the victims of gun violence. here's what he said. >> one of those we lost was a young girl named ideah pendleton. she was 15 years old. she love love newtons.

she was a majorette. she was so good to her friends they all thought they were her best friend. just three weeks agoshe was here in washington with her classmates performing for her country at my inauguration. and a week later, she was shot and killed in a chicago park after school just a mile away from my house. her parents, nate and chleo are in this chamber tonight along with more than two dozen americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence. they deserve a vote. ( applause ) they deserve a vote. they deserve a vote.

gabby giffords deserves a vote. ( applause ) the families of newtown deserve a vote. the families of aurora deserve a vote. the families of tucson and blacks burg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote. >> woodruff: david brooks, you can see why the president decided to put that at the end of the speech. that was clearly the high point >> it was beautifully delivered moment but the composure of the pendletons is sort sort of what made that... their ability to say, you know, to really be about the issue to stand up and give that applau, t kp it together, to see gabby giffords unable to clap. you know, that adds power. >> woodruff: coming off this, mark, we don't know what is

going to happen with gun control legislation. most people think assault weapons ban will not happen. maybe a background check >> the chances improve tonight. it got a lift, judy. i really do. i think there was a sense in this city tonight that it's possible. and that there's a human face to this rightnow that newtown has given it, the pendletons have given it. i think that it gives it a new urgency >> woodruff: that crosses party lines. you saw both republicans and democrats >> speaker boehner stood and applauded. to the give us a vote. >> woodruff: thank you both, mark sheedle and david brooks for being with us on this special state of the union night. with that we end our coverage of the president's state of the union address. we will be back at our regular time tomorrow for the newshour. don't forget you can still join our google-plus hangout hosted by news political editor

christina bellantoni on the web. you can watch all of tonight's speeches on our you-tube site. i'm judy wood rough. on behalf of all of us at the newshour, thank you for joining us and good night. ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org